


Harry Potter and When Did Malfoy Get A Snake?

by CorrianMurphy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: French, Getting Together, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Lucius Malfoy's A+ Parenting, M/M, Parseltongue, Parseltongue Kink, Secret Relationship, Supportive Narcissa Black Malfoy, Supportive Ron Weasley, orion- snake, talkative snake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25258039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorrianMurphy/pseuds/CorrianMurphy
Summary: Narcissa got Draco a snake. Draco's snake got Draco a boyfriend
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood, Pansy Parkinson/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 96
Kudos: 394





	1. Prequel

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fic. Plz comment any improvements I can make. Also, this first chapter is like a prequel to the story.

The weeks leading up to the start of Eighth year were nerve-wracking for Draco. He’d spent the entire summer rebuilding the Hogwarts castle, serving out his community service, while The Prophet was having a field day shit-talking him and swooning over Harry Bloody Potter. But, Draco couldn’t really blame them. He had let Death Eater into the school, he had helped that no nosed freak, and he had been marked. If anything, he felt like he deserved to go to Askaban like his father. The rest of the wizarding world felt the same way.  
Which is why he was terrified of going back for eighth year. However, no matter how terrified he was to go back, he needed his NEWTS if he had any hope for a future job.  
\---  
Narcissa, sensing her son was upset, bought him a snake. It was pretty, a San Francisco garter snake. Though Draco didn’t seem to like it that much. She assumed that had to do with Nagini, so she didn’t blame him, but she hoped the colorful noodle would cheer him up a bit. And Draco, not wanting to disappoint his mother, took to ‘bonding with the snake’, if you could call it that.  
He’d sit by the fire, with the boop noodle curled up in his lap, talking to it. Usually about his day, sometimes about his past, and on days the prophet really glorified Harry Potter, he’d talk non-stop for hours about Harry sodding Potter and his stupid emerald eyes. He didn’t think the snake understood him, but it was nice to have someone to talk to. Pansy was away in France, “starting a fashion empire, Darling” as she called it. He loved that his friend was trying to start over, even if it took her away from him. Though she kept talking about this mystery woman in her letters and on Floo-calls and how he’d have to meet her because, “She’s honestly very nice, and very understanding, and very forgiving, and - Draco are you even listening?”  
“Yes, you were going on about some mystery woman..”  
“Yes, and you will meet her at Christmas. Now I have a dress to make, so you go talk to your snake and get ready to go back to school tomorrow.”  
“Bye Pans”  
“Bye Darling.” She rushed out as she ended the call. Draco let out a sigh. Eighth year started tomorrow. He was going to get hexed and yelled at and completely ignored for nine months straight starting tomorrow. At least he had Orion, his snake.


	2. Train Rides and Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Chapter 2! It feels really bland right now due to lack of proper dialogue but that will change soon. It's a slow start but it'll get better.

When Harry arrived on the Platform 9 ¾ he was not prepared for the onslaught of press and fans crowding around him and his friends. He was even less prepared for every single person on the train to insist that the trio sits with them. With Ron leading the way down the train Harry followed, losing himself in thought. He wondered how this year would be without the threat of the dark lord and people swooning over him and his friends. He spent most of the summer between Grimmauld place and the Burrow avoiding people. The Weasley’s, Hermione, Neville, and Luna seemed to be the only ones who didn’t shove it down his throat that he was The Great Savior of The Wizarding World. 

Of course, even they sometimes didn’t understand that he didn’t want to talk some days or that he was thinking of taking a break from fighting dark wizards for a few years. Ginny and Luna became his favorites pretty quickly when times like that happened after Ginny started sending letters to some mystery person and talking about them non-stop, that is. He was glad she didn’t take the whole ‘not wanting to get back together thing’ very hard, but dang that girl moved on fast. And Luna would talk about everything and nothing all at once, but never expected him to respond. She knew that he just needed a distraction sometimes. 

Ron finally found a car, and the trio sat down, for a nice long train ride without any interruptions. Well, maybe one interruption from the trolly was ok.  
\---  
Draco thought that maybe, just maybe, he could get onto the train and sit in a car alone, away from everyone else this year. Unfortunately, that’s not how his luck worked out. Thankfully though, Luna Lovegood was the first to sit with him. They had bonded a little over the summer when he had an unfortunate run-in with a thestral and almost got himself killed trying to get away from it. She was even wearing the glasses she told him about that were very odd-looking. He couldn’t remember the name or purpose of them for the life of him. 

“Draco! How are you?” She asked in her dream-laced voice.  
“I am well, Luna. How are you today?”  
“I am wonderful, do you mind if Neville and Ginny join us? It seems your car is the only one without any Wrackspurts.”

Draco was hesitant about letting Ginny sit with him. Luna was cool, Neville he could handle, but Ginny was a wild card. She would either pretend he doesn’t exist or make a big fuss about him being there and all the things he’s done in his past. Honestly, he didn’t think they’d have a good ride either way, but the hopeful look on Luna’s face made him cave. He could just read a book and make himself seem not important throughout the ride. 

“Ok, Luna. They can.”  
“Thanks, Draco.” She smiled. Draco braced himself for the worst, but everyone just sat down. They looked tired and he could guess why. They had spent the past few years fighting in a war. 

So Draco read a muggle book about love and money and pale yellow scents, curled up next to the window with Orion draped across his neck. Sometimes the snake was sleeping, others just looking around. Luna and Neville asked a few questions about him but ultimately went back to more magical creature discussions. 

Ginny sat next to him, close to the door but not so close as to seem repulsed by him, pathetically trying to get some sleep. She gave up when the trolly came around, getting some sweets. When she was one sickle short, Draco gave her one of his, after saying it’s the least he could give her for helping defeat Voldemort. Which then launched them into a conversation about sweets when the tension got so thick it could be cut with a knife. Ginny was very intelligent, unlike her weasel of a brother. She also knew quite a bit about quidditch… and fashion? Draco found himself liking her company more by the minute. He thought that maybe, just maybe, this year wouldn’t be so bad. If he played his cards right, that is.


	3. Roommates and sneaky snakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this one a little longer! Also working on paragraph spacing.

Draco was incorrect. The second he got off the train, he was hit by a stinging hex to the back of his left leg. This caused him to trip and fall, almost crushing Orion. 

Luna helped him up, while Ginny and Neville went to talk to the fifth year that threw the hex. Draco didn’t want these Gryffindor’s fighting his battles, but one look at his snake with a cut in its side and he knew he’d have to let it slide this one time. 

“Orion’s hurt,” he stated kinda dumbly to the snake. 

“Hagrid can help. He’ll be leading the first years to the docks right now. If we hurry we can have him look at your friend,” Luna said. 

“Ok,” Draco mumbled as he picked Orion up and followed her lead.

He hoped they wouldn’t miss a carriage, or at least Luna wouldn’t. She was a good friend and he wouldn’t want to be the reason she got into trouble. 

Upon reaching the docks Draco noticed three figures standing next to the giant. They weren’t as small as the first years that were getting into various different boats. It wasn’t until they were about six feet away that he saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron, cursing himself for not thinking they would be there talking to Hagrid. They had almost every year and he was dumb enough to not expect them to continue that tradition. 

“Hello friends,” Luna said, “we need your help Hagrid.”

“Luna! So nice to see you! And- Malfoy?” Hermione responded. Draco gave a swift nod before turning his attention to the giant. 

“My snake has a cut in its side, I was wondering if you could maybe help it?” He asked. 

Hagrid looked at him, and for one horrifying moment, Draco thought that his snake would have to suffer because of his past actions. His suffering, he could deal with but his snake hadn’t done anything wrong and didn’t deserve that. Hagrid held out his hand and Draco carefully placed Orion in it. The snake immediately warming up to Hagrid. 

“Bandage’ll do. Pretty little snake yeh got there. It should be fine.” Hagrid declared, pulling a little white cloth from his pocket and wrapping it around Orion’s side. 

“Thank you,” Draco said as his snake slid back to its place around his neck. 

“Yer Welcome, Malfoy. Bring ‘em back by if anything else happens. Lovely snake yeh got” Hagrid then got into the boat and waved them all goodbye. 

The walk back was uneventful. The trio stayed back while Draco and Luna walked ahead of them. When they got back to the carriages there were two left. The trio got into one with Ginny while Luna and Neville rose with Draco up to the castle. 

Once in the great hall they went their separate ways. Draco noticed that Blaise had come back this year, as well as Theo and a few others from their year, but not a lot. Greg had gone to Romania to work on a dragon reservation. Pansy was in France. The Greengrass’ went to Italy. That didn’t include the number of kids that died in the war. Draco hoped the new generations of Slytherin would learn from his mistakes.

After the sorting ceremony Headmistress McGonagall gave a begging of the year speech. She talked about house unity and how they had all overcome so much in the past year. Draco was surprised when she said that mind healers would be around the school to help students who needed them. 

“Now as you all know,” she went on, “we need to practice inner house unity. In order to do so, the teacher here and I have decided that the seventh and Eighth years will all room together as years instead of houses. Eighth years will also not be allowed to gain or lose points for their houses but any foolishness will result in detention. After dinner, you will all follow me to your new quarters and get assigned your roommate for the year. Now, let the feast begin!” With a pop, food appeared in front of them. 

“Got to admit Malfoy, didn’t expect to see you here this year,” Theo said. 

“Theo, shut up,” Blaise day, “Sorry Draco, he’s just upset because Pansy’s a lesbian and won’t date him.” 

“It’s alright Blaise. So, who do you think will be your roommate?” Draco asked, desperately trying to change the subject. 

“Don’t know. Probably Weasley.” 

“What makes you say that?” Theo asked, appalled. 

“Well it makes sense. We’re Slytherins so they’d pair us with Gryffindors because, well, we’re always fighting. So making us live together and not kill each other would be the best way to get us to act friendly. And since Draco will obviously be paired with Potter because of their ongoing rivalry for the past forever, Weasley will get the honor of sharing a room with yours truly.” Blaise smirked. 

He made sense, but that seemed extreme. Pairing kids up based on how much they didn’t get along would only result in fights for the beginning of the year, and that would be too much conflict to deal with. All this talk about what the professors might do was giving Draco a headache, so he just kept quiet and ate some pie. 

Once dinner was over and everyone else had left, the headmistress lead the seventh and eighth years down the hall to a portrait just passed the gargoyle to her office. Draco noticed that it was a gargoyle no more but instead a cat. A very big cat.  
McGonagall opened the portrait and showed them inside. Banners of every house were strung around the large circular room and were the only source that they had separate houses. All the furniture was black and the walls white. There were tables on one side of the room and a massive fireplace on the other, with two doors, one silver, and the other gold. McGonagall showed them the notice board that was enchanted to not show anything inappropriate. Then she left them to find their roommates and rooms. 

Draco hung back, not eager to find out who might be unlucky enough to room with him. When he did approach the board after a minute he saw his name scribbled next to… 

“Weasley?” Blaise asked. 

“What Zabini?” Weasley asked, annoyed. 

“No, I was just- look,” Blaise pointed to the board where Ron’s name sat next to Draco’s. Draco felt a little sick. 

“Don’t suppose there’s any way we could switch?” Weasley asked. 

The board lit up red with the word ‘NO’ written largely in black. 

“Worth a shot,” he said, “you can go up and chose a bed, I honestly don’t care. Just, don’t kill me in my sleep please?” 

“If he did, it’d be a crappy way to repay your best mate.” Theo said whole throwing his arm around Draco’s shoulder, upsetting Orion. The snake hissed at Theo, who didn’t seem to notice, so Draco just moved his arm off of himself. 

“Sure,” he mumbled while walking to the silver door. 

Once in the room he chose the bed closest to the bathroom. Hoping Weasley wouldn’t mind. He really just wanted to get this year over with as quick and as painless as possible. He let Orion off his shoulders to go explore a little before bed. He went to take a shower, pondering over what the worst thing that could happen this year. Weasley seemed too tired to fight tonight but would it always be like that? And would he get hexed every day? He thought he deserved it but wouldn’t that go against the headmistress’ rules? Draco didn’t know. 

He puts his pajamas on and was about to brush his teeth when a scream came from in the room. After reminding himself that screaming was not normal to hear in Hogwarts, especially before bed (he’d have to go see a mind healer about trying to undo the damage caused by living with the dark lord if one would even see him), he ran out of the bathroom. Only to find Ron. Staring down at his bed in horror. 

“What is it?” Draco asked.

“There’s a snake in my bed,” Ron spat at him. 

“Crap,” Draco forgot to put Orion up in his terrarium. “Sorry, I forgot to put him up. I’m sorry,” Draco muttered. Wincing when Weasley took in a sharp breath. 

“It’s ok, just don’t let it happen again, Malfoy. That snake better not cause me any troubles or else I’ll be raising hell for it to go back to your manor.” 

“Of course, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” Draco clarified, placing Orion into his home. 

“And Malfoy?” Draco turned to look at the redhead, “don’t forget to put up some silencing charms. I have nightmares from the war and I know you do too. I don’t want to have to listen to you screaming at night.” 

“Of course. Same here.”


	4. Parties and Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. I wanted this chapter up a little earlier, but no time like the present right? I fixed some of the grammar and spelling mistakes from the earlier chapters today, so big thanks to Chococat for letting me know and suggesting an app to help with them!! I appreciate it very much!!! anyways, here's the new chapter. Hope you guys like it! though, this feels very rushed.

The next morning after waking up from a dreamless sleep, Draco decided he liked being able to see the sunshine. Sure, the dungeons were home for a long time, but after living with a noseless maniac in a pit os despair, a little bit of sun was nice. So he walked down to breakfast with a little pep in his step. Til a jelly legs jinx was thrown his way and he went crashing to the ground.

“Careful there, Malfoy. Wouldn’t want to mess up that face,” Zacharis Smith sneered at him. 

“Screw off, Smith!” Blaise yelled before helping Draco up. Smith left, but not before glaring daggers at the two Slytherins. Who knew a Hufflepuff could be so mean?

“Thanks, Blaise but I was handling it.”

“That didn’t look like ‘handling it’ to me,” Theo smirked walking up. 

“Morning to you too, Nott. What are you doing up so early?” Blaise asked. 

“Bloody Potter. I didn’t know someone could be so clumsy. He was crashing into everything, fidgeting… I swear he didn’t get a lick of sleep last night, he was moving so much.”

“Ah, so you get the honor of rooming with Golden Boy,” Blaise said as they sat down for breakfast. 

“Wouldn’t call it an honor,” Theo mumbled. Draco decided to tune them out. He was hungry and he needed to focus on school this year, not Potter. 

\---

Over the next two weeks, Draco’s life was going pretty great. Sure, he still got hexed here and there, maybe not all of the teachers liked him, but they all tolerated him. Sharing a room with Ron was a disaster, but anyone could’ve guessed that. Malfoys never got along well with Weasleys. However, it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Pansy sent him letters every other day of her progress in France, even Greg sent him a letter with more pictures than words. He even managed not to stalk or torment Potter at all this year. That is until Dean and Seamus decided to throw a party in the name of house unity. 

Attendance was mandatory for all Seventh and Eighth years on Friday. It was to be held in the Room of Requirement, which would have been fine if Draco didn’t have recurring nightmares where Potter left him instead of saving him. He didn’t know how Blaise and Theo felt about it either since Crabble was their friend too. He didn’t feel like talking about it with anyone. He had told Orion about it once when he rambled by the fire over the summer, but he didn’t think he’d ever hear the end of it if Weasley walked in on him talking to a snake. Not that it was any of Weasley’s business. 

Draco concluded that he would go, but only for a short amount of time and Orion would be there too because well he just wanted his pet there. He’d grown attached to the snake. Of course, he might need to ask if that was ok first considering it’d be polite to.

“Oi! Malfoy?” Ron asked from his side of the room.

“Yes?”

“Some of the other Eighth years and I decided to make our own quidditch teams since we can’t play on the school teams and we were wondering if you would want to play? Only cause the guy we have going against Harry as a seeker sucks.”

“I’m good… Thanks. I’ve got a lot of studying to do.” Draco clarified. As Weasley stalked off Draco heard him mutter something about dealing with another one. Draco didn’t know what he meant, nor did he care. He was still fretting about this party. 

\---

Harry loved flying. He didn’t know what it was exactly that he loved about it, but he loved it. Maybe it was the wind slapping his face, or the feeling of being free. He didn’t know, but he always dreaded whenever his feet hit the ground. 

“Harry! Mate! Are you coming to our party?” Seamus asked while throwing an arm around Dean’s shoulder. 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Well, it’s not like you could. Say, do you still speak parseltongue?” Daen aksed

“I don’t know. I haven’t been looking for snakes to talk to.”

“Well, we heard that Malfoy has a new pet. I wonder what secrets it knows. Ho-”

“Guys, no. Malfoy’s a git but I’m not about to go and try to strike up a conversation with his snake just to mess with him. Besides, last time I heard, Malfoy was completely focused on school. Ron says he studies more than Mione. And we never go around each other so I wouldn’t be able to anyway,” Harry said. He did want to know if the snake had any information on if or what Malfoy was panning but he wasn’t about to tell the whole world that. However, he had no way of getting to the snake, Malfoy always had the thing right next to him. 

“Rumor has it,” Seamus said while sliding up next to harry as they walked up to the castle, “he’s bringing it to the party.”

“Yeah,” said Dean sliding up next to his other side, “so… that might be the perfect time to ask. And besides, Malfoy’s a git. You said it yourself! Maybe it’ll spill something embarrassing but not completely mortifying that we can use.”

“You’re both out of luck. If Mione finds out I talked to a snake just to get to Malfoy, she’ll have me admitted to St. Mungos,” Harry said. He quickened his pace and made it to his room without anyone else talking to him. He knew it was wrong but Malfoy not doing anything all year just seemed way too improbable. 

\---

Harry spent the rest of the week dodging Dean and Seamus until he found himself in the Room of Requirement on Friday wishing he had someone to talk to. It seemed like everybody he knew was completely ignoring him. So Harry had a choice, he could talk to the Slytherins that were also being ignored, or he could sit on the couch with a drink in his hand and act super awkward. The latter was what he went with. 

“I can smell the unease coming off of you in waves,” A soft voice to his left said. But when Harry turned to look at who spoke to him no one was there.

“Down here,” the voice continued. So, Harry looked down. Only to find a vibrant colored snake sitting next to him, looking very unamused. 

“Hello,” Harry said, not trusting that Seamus or Dean set this up. 

“Hello. You are uneasy. Why?”

“I’ve just got no one to talk to. Well… had no one to talk to, why are you here?”

“Draco dragged me to this gathering. Do humans always gather to get aroused?”

“What? No. And why are you over here? Why aren’t you with Malfoy?”

“Because Blaise is boring, Theo is full of himself, and Draco won’t talk to me anymore.” The snake whined, “and you were lonely so I knew You’d pay attention to me.”

“You’re very whiny.”

“You haven’t met my owner, have you?”

Harry laughed at this. Only Malfoy would get a judgmental snake. 

“There you are, Orion. I’ve been looking for you,” Malfoy said, “still a parseltongue, Potter? I thought that ability would have gone away after the war,” he finished in a mocking tone.

“Wait,” Orion started at harry, as if looking for something in particular, “You’re Harry Potter?” Harry nodded. “Dude, He’s super gay for you and your stupid emerald green eyes and scar and blah blah blah.” The snake mocked. 

“Knew it,” Harry smirked looking up to a confused Draco. 

“What’d he say?”

“Oh, uh… he just said hi”

“Then why did you say knew it?”

“Well because I knew I could still speak parseltongue. Yeah, I uh thought I wasn’t able to anymore since defeating Voldemort”

“Ok, that was so clearly a lie because you were talking to him before I came over, but since I don’t want any trouble I’ll let it slide,” Malfoy said while walking away.

“What do you mean you don’t want any trouble? You’re the one who walked up to me, mocking me for being a parseltongue!” Harry yelled as he followed. 

“Oh get over yourself, Potter!” 

Harry didn’t know what about Malfoy made him so mad, but it felt good to wipe that smug expression off his face with one swift punch. What didn’t feel good were the brawl that followed or the screaming from his friends and Malfoy’s telling them to stop fighting. And getting lecture by headmistress McGonagall on throwing parties and fighting at said parties wasn’t fun either. They were both lucky they only got a month’s worth of detentions.


	5. Potions Homework

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to post a chapter a day, but laziness is slowly trying to creep over me. Anyway, I love reading all the comments! You guys are so sweet!

“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Weasley asked after he stormed into the room. “You can’t just let Harry go one year, ONE YEAR, without being tormented by you?”

“Hey! Don’t start accusing me of stuff you know nothing about, Weasel!” Draco sneered, “He’s the one who lied to me about what my snake said, and he swung first!”

“And I’m supposed to believe you did nothing to deserve that, now did you Draco?” Ron replied, rolling his eyes. “What does it matter if your snake said something? It probably can’t understand English so doubt it was about you. You’ll look like to total fool if it turned out to be about something stupid,” he accused, causing Orion to hiss from her place of Draco’s bed. Draco remembered telling the snake about the terrible things his father did to him and others while his mother was almost powerless to stop it. He'd rather not have the whole school know but Weasley wasn't aware of what went on in his house so clearly, he doesn't understand.

“Why do you even care? It's not like you were yelled at for an hour!”

“Because now Harry’s stuck doing detention with you instead of hanging out with me and Mione or studying. And I swear, if you make him more miserable in detention than he’s already going to be, you will be sorry.” Ron gritted through his teeth. Ron had never been extremely intimidating to Draco, but now that he wasn’t able to defend himself with any magic… well, let’s just say things changed. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it Weasley,” he muttered while closing the curtains around his bed and rolling to face the wall. Maybe Weasley is right, maybe he should just leave Potter alone like he planned to. It would certainly be easier than going to Azkaban for the git. Especially a git that made him feel nauseous, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. 

0o0

Draco’s body felt hot like lightning was shooting through his body. He was in so much pain it was hard to breathe. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run but he couldn’t. It was like he was stuck there. He spun around, looking for someone to help him, anyone. All he could see was darkness. 

"Draco," a voice called, "What were you thinking? Letting Potter take your wand. Malfoy's don't give up their wands so easily. Then again, you never really acted like a Malfoy. Always hiding behind your mother."

"Please..." Draco choked out, "Stop." A tear fell down his cheek as a flash of red blinded him. 

\---

Harry couldn't sleep. He had been tossing and turning for hours now, listening to the sound of Theo's snoring and he just couldn't sleep. It wasn’t until he cast a Tempus that read 3:02 am, that he finally gave up and headed down to the common room. 

The fire was nice. He could get used to the crackling sound it made and the warmth it gave off. It reminded him of the one in Teddy’s room. Although this one probably wasn’t warded like Teddy’s was. 

He sat alone for a little while longer before someone else came down. They sat in an armchair to his right, opening up a book. He was glad, he didn’t feel like talking. And so the minutes dragged on. Harry kept thinking about things he probably should be doing, like that potions homework, while his guest kept reading. The Hermione sounding voice in his head finally won over his laziness, so he went up to get his homework. Maybe he could do something. 

When he came back down he took a minute to look over at the other person in the room. Only for his blood to run cold. There, in the chair, sat no other than Malfoy. And he was reading… a… muggle book? What? When had Malfoy ever shown interest in anything muggle? Yeah, he might not be as anti-muggles as his dad, but really? Harry was dumbfounded. He was even more dumbfounded when the relaxed look on Malfoy’s face and the way his hair fell slightly in his eyes made his stomach ache. Not in a bad way though? 

Harry reminded himself that Malfoy was a git. A slimy, pointy git who had really soft-looking hair he may or may not want to run his fingers through- ‘Harry stop,’ He thought to himself. He sat down and tried to figure out how to calculate the amount of crushed up moonrock he needed to equal 60 grams of a slug. However, he kept finding himself wanting to mess with Malfoy. 

“Cool looking book,” he noted once he finally broke, “I didn’t know you liked muggle literature.”

“I do,” Malfoy noted quietly, not looking up from his book. Harry went back to not focusing on his calculation. “I’m sorry. For getting upset earlier about Orion. It’s just… When you… There’s a lot of talk in my house of things I’d rather not have the whole school know about. Like a lot. Especially since my father went to Azkaban. So I thought that maybe he told you something that you would use against me or, merlin forbid, her. So I lashed out. I’m sorry.” Malfoy said, looking at Harry. ‘When did his eyes look so clear and sparkly?’ Harry thought.

“I thought Malfoy’s don’t apologize,” Harry said, treading lightly on this new Draco he was seeing. Since when did he apologize too?

“I share a room with your best mate and he hates me.” 

“Oh, I see. So this is like a move to make Ron not hate you as much.”

“Never mind if you're going to be a prat about it. I’ll just hex first, talk later next time.” Malfoy grumbled, going back to his book. 

“Do you, uh, understand the potions homework by any chance?” Harry asked. He felt kind of bad since Malfoy kind of just spilled his guts to him. 

“I do,” Malfoy replied again, this time putting a scrap of paper into his book and moving to sit next to Harry on the couch. He smelled like lemons, and fresh air, and broomstick cleaner, and Harry really needed to focus on his homework. He hadn’t even asked Malfoy for help and he was already reviewing Harry’s paper. 

“I didn’t ask for help,” Harry pointed out.

“It’s you, and potions,” Malfoy said, “you need help whether you ask for it or not. You’re just lucky I like potions more than I hate you and you need help more than you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you,” Harry whispered.

“What?” Malfoy looked at him like he had just sprouted another head.

“I said I don’t hate you.”

“Oh. Well… I guess I don’t really hate you either. You just have a knack for getting under my skin.” He said, turning back to Harry’s homework. “Hey, I have a question.”

“Ok”

“You clearly need help in Potions, If you want to pass, and I need some help in defense. So why don’t I tutor you and you tutor me?” Malfoy suggested.

“What would you need help in Defense for?”

“I can’t cast a Patronus and I need to for NEWTS,” Malfoy said. 

"Why not just ask Professor Spark?"

"Because she doesn't like me and that leaves either you or Granger."

"What's so bad about Hermione teaching you?"

"She's always gotten higher scores in class than I have. If you tell her that I will hex your tongue to wear you won't be able to taste anything ever again by the way," Malfoy clarified. 

"Ok, Deal," Harry stuck out his hand.

"Deal," Malfoy said while shaking it. After that, they both got back to work on Harry's potion homework. It wasn't long before they both fell asleep on the couch, unaware of how close they were.


	6. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am alive! Sorry, I just had no motivation for the past few days! I hope you guys enjoy, it's a little bit longer than normal but not much.

When Harry woke up the first thing he noticed was the common room couch that he had been sleeping on and the fire that had died out. The next thing he noticed was the crick in his neck from sleeping while sitting up as he tried to look at the clock on the wall. It was only six in the morning and he groaned at the thought of having to get up, knowing he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. 

Something tucked into his side moved, letting out a small groan of its own. Harry looked over to be met with a mop of platinum blond hair that belonged to the one and only, Draco Malfoy. And that is when his memories of last night hit him like a truck. 

Last night, he had punched Malfoy, gotten the whole seventh and eighth-year student body into trouble for partying, and slept on the couch only hours later with the person responsible for most of his problems. However, he noticed that Malfoy looked kind of cute when he slept. Probably because his mouth was shut, Harry decided. 

His hair was messed up in a way that made Harry want to run his hands through it. So he may or may not have run his finger through Draco’s hair, but not because it was super soft and inviting! No, Harry did it to piss Malfoy off more once he woke up and looked in a mirror, Harry tried reasoning. Ok, Harry could admit that Draco was attractive but he was still annoying, mean, and a bitch. 

As soon as he finished that thought, the sound of feet walking towards the common room caught his attention. So he did the only logical thing, cast a bunch of disillusionment charms on Malfoy, and pray. (Why didn’t he just get up and leave the room? He doesn’t know.) 

Hannah Abbot walked out from behind the gold door still in her pajamas with little grey owls all over them and yawning. Harry felt a pang in his heart when he saw said pajamas. 

“Oh. Good morning Harry!” She said upon seeing him. 

“Hello, Hannah,” He replied.

“What are you doing out here all by yourself on a Saturday? I’m surprised you’re alone.”  
“Well, you know… just enjoying being alone for once.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. He was going to have to work o his lying skills, They’ve deteriorated over time. 

“Theo snores loudly and I couldn’t sleep.” He confessed.

“Oh… Well, I’m going to the kitchens to get something to eat. You wanna come with?”

“No, thank you though,” Harry replied. He was starving, but Malfoy was still asleep curled up into his side. He may be a git, but he was still a victim of war and Harry was certain he has just as many nightmares as the rest of them. He took the charms down. The common room might not be the best place for Malfoy to be curled up asleep into Harry’s side though. Maybe if he could just find a pillow for the git… 

As if his luck couldn’t get any worse, Blaise Zabini waltz through the silver door before Harry had time to put up another round of disillusionment charms. Upon noticing Harry, Blaise walked over, a smug look on his face. 

“Potter! What a surprise to see-” Zabini was cut short, eyes growing wide as he noticed just who was snuggled right up next to Harry. “Well,” he straightened himself up eyebrow shooting up, “Dam, I owe Pansy.”

“Shut up and find me a pillow,” Harry was exasperated. Surprised? No. He knew better than to be surprised at how low Slytherins were. Zabini handed Harry a purple pillow with gold lace patterns around it which Harry placed under Malfoy’s head after scooting away from him. He also wrapped a blanket around the git.

“He was helping me last night with the potions homework after we both couldn’t sleep. Drop the eyebrow,” Harry muttered. He bent down to pick up the book Malfoy had been reading. When he set it on the coffee table in front of the couch he caught Zabini still looking at him, eyebrow lowered. “Yes?” 

“We should talk,” Blaise said, clearly a little worried.

“Alright, let’s go talk on the way to the kitchens,” Harry stated while walking towards the common room door. 

“Wait, you’re just going to leave him here? Unprotected?” 

“What do you mean?” Harry asked while turning around. 

Blaise rolled his eyes. “Well if you don’t remember, Potter, Draco here is a Death Eater. There are tons of people who have access to this room who will not hesitate to curse him.”

“Okay, first off, WAS a Death Eater! And second off, yeah you’re probably right. Give me a second,” Harry said before walking through the silver door and to Hermione’s room. He walked in without knocking to find her reading in bed. “Hey,” he said.

“Good morning Harry!”

“Will you read in the common room, just so you can make sure no one messes with Malfoy while he sleeps?”

“Sure, but when did you start caring about Malfoy?”

“Since leaving him on the couch alone where he could get attacked would be a lecture worthy offense from you, McGonagall, Molly, and all of the Slytherins.” 

“At least you’re learning something,” Hermione commented as she got off her bed and followed Harry down to the common room. She sat on the chair to the left of the couch, going back to her book the second she got comfortable. Harry nodded at Blaise and they walked out of the common room.

When they were about three halls over Harry asked, “So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Draco.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“I got a letter from Pansy this morning and let’s just say, Draco’s not going to be very happy once he finds out what I know.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Well… nothing really, but it would help if you could maybe talk to some students about not hexing him as much that would be great. Merlin knows he’s going to have enough problems on his hands and getting hexed by fellow students doesn’t need to be one,” Blaise said as they made their way down to the kitchens. 

\---

When Draco woke up he felt better than he had in days. Although, waking up on a couch in the common room wasn’t very cleanly or appropriate. ‘Wasn’t Potter here to last night?’ He thought. 

“You’re awake,” a voice to his left said. He looked up to find Hermione Granger, nose in a book. No one else was in the common room. 

“What happened to Potter?” Draco asked.

“Why do you care?” Granger retorted, sounding like she didn’t want the words to cut through him as they did. ‘They shouldn’t’ he thought. 

“I just want to make sure he’s ok. I’ll be sent to Azkaban if something happened to him and I was in a hundred-foot radius.”

“He went somewhere with Zabini. He asked me to watch you while he was gone.” Granger looked up from her book. 

“Why would he do that?”

“Because if he didn’t he would’ve been lectured by the entire school. Plus he didn’t want you getting hurt.”

“Oh, well. If you see him before I do tell him I said thank you, and also Thank you, Granger. For keeping me safe.” Hermione nodded at his request, turning back to her book. 

He gave a short goodbye to Granger before making his way to his room to get ready for the day, where he found his mother’s owl waiting for him with a letter. A letter that would change everything. 

\---  
My Dearest Draco,   
I hope your school year is going well. I miss you so much, hopefully, you can come to visit soon. However, I am afraid that missing you is not the reason for this letter.   
Your father is being released from Azkaban next month. I do not know that exact date or time, but I am certain I will be notified soon.   
Unfortunately, this means that we will not be allowed to see Andromada and Teddy as frequently. I know this will not make you happy but you had to know. It will also mean the ministry will be watching our family more than it already does.   
This is a lot of pressure to put on you, but please try not to do anything that would get you into trouble. I already received a firecall from the headmistress regarding a fight you were in. Honestly Draco, I raised you better than to get caught.   
I love you more than the world,   
Mum  
\---

After putting the letter back up, Draco crawled under his covers and cried silently. He hoped Weasley couldn’t hear him, but he was unsure because he was too overcome with emotions when he cast the silencing charms. It would be utterly embarrassing if Weasley found him, a Malfoy, crying just because his father was getting out of prison. The same father who gave you up to the dark lord purely to try and get into his good graces again and tortured him to prove his loyalty to Voldemorts cause. Crimes Draco had never and could never forgive him for. Draco didn’t even care about blood purity, he was just doing what was expected of him. 

His father was getting out of Azkaban. After only about four months and he was getting out. Draco tried to wrap his head around it. Nothing made sense though. Why was his father getting out of Azkaban so soon? How would he be able to go home and visit his mother without running into his father? Draco asked himself a million more questions he was unable to answer. He wished he was twelve again, and life was easy for him. ‘That’s not how life works’ he reminded himself. 

Orion slithered up Draco’s bed and looked at him, tilting his little snakehead to the side. He stuck his tongue out and hissed at Draco trying to tell him something, but Draco didn’t know what. Maybe Luna could help because there was no way he was asking Potter. Too risky. 

Drying his tears, Draco got up and walked down the hall to Luna’s room. He could only hope she had an answer.


	7. Hermione's Blackmail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha! finished in the wee hours of the morning. Now I shall sleep for 3 days straight. 
> 
> Very short, kinda boring. I feel this chapter is just building on new friendships and adding reasons to hate Lucius. Hope you guys enjoy it!!!
> 
> ALSO, IMPORTANT!!!!  
> I am getting ready to move so it might take me a while to get up new chapters. (hopefully not!)

Draco didn’t leave his bed at all. He didn’t even leave for the detentions he was supposed to serve or even classes. He stayed curled up, with Orion looking at him as if the snake was worried. All he could think about was how he would have to choose between his little cousin, who he loved more than the world even though he only knew him for the few summer months he’d been over with Andromada. Or his mother, who’d be stuck with his father. His terrible, terrible father. But Draco knew he could never leave his mother, so maybe that’s why he chose to lay in bed and not get up. 

\---

Blaise came by to check on Draco around dinner Saturday. Upon seeing Draco he sent word to the kitchens to have a plate delivered to Draco’s bedside table. He told the elves it was due to an illness that would pass eventually and when it did he would let the elves know. He found it odd that the elves would care about how Draco was doing. He never showed much care for the creatures, though that may just be because of his father. He asked Weasley to keep an eye on him, not for Blaise or even Draco, but for Narcissa who saved Harry’s life a few months prior. Weasley agreed. 

Blaise was worried Saturday, but he understood Draco’s issue. On Sunday, he figured it was just runoff from Saturday- Slytherins don’t let their weakness be displayed as Draco was doing. When Monday came, with Draco still hulled up in his room, Blaise was kinda done with his behavior. He doesn’t even have to go home until the end of the year, why is he acting this way? He thought. On Tuesday, when he didn’t see Draco in any classes he went up to talk to him. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out since Draco changed the wards and Blaise wasn’t able to get in.

Once it was Wednesday morning and Draco hadn’t shown up to class Blaise decided he’d had enough. So, he did something he hoped Draco would never find out about and went to the library to search for the Golden Trio. 

\---

Harry spent the weekend in the common room with Ron and Hermione playing games and studying. He also told the most influential people in the younger years and other houses to just leave the Slytherins be, they were harmless now. When Monday had rolled around he was sure it would be just another day plus the detention he got the Friday before. This Monday, however, felt different. So did Tuesday. It still felt off on Wednesday.

They started with Double Potions, then straight to DADA, which was normal. The trio ate lunch in the great hall after DADA and had a free period before Advanced Charms, for Harry and Ron, and Arithmancy for Hermione. They were in the library working on the potions essays they had for the week when Harry finally figured out why something felt off. 

“Hey, Ron,” Harry whispered silently hoping Hermione didn’t hear since she was a table away helping some second year. “Have you seen Malfoy today?”

“Yes, he’s been in our room sick for the past few days. Why? You aren’t becoming obsessed with him again are you?” Ron replied, looking up from his essay.

“Honestly boys, you’re both pathetic at whispering,” Hermione cut in making both Harry and Ron jump. “And Ronald, why isn’t he in the infirmary then?”

“How should I know?”

“Saviors! Just the trio I was looking for,” Zabini said while he strolled up to the trio all smiles and nods. He was so fake Harry could smell the plastic. “Listen, I need a favor.”

“I already did you a favor,” Harry said.

“Same here and I don’t plan on doing another,” Ron added.

“Now now, I know. Trust me I know. Thanks by the way. I haven’t been able to walk down the halls so carefree since the first year. Anyway, this is another favor I need from Weasley. Or one of you, I don’t care who does it, as long as it gets done.”

“I’m not doing anything more for you, Zabini,” Ron replied. 

“Hear him out first, Ronald,” Hermione shot him a look that Harry hoped he’d never get. He also wondered what favor Ron could have possibly done for Zabini. Last he heard they both hated each other. 

“Thank you, Granger! See, this is why she’s the smart one.”

“You’re not making us want to help you,” Hermione glared at him.

“Ok, ok. So, I need help getting Draco out of bed.”

“Why can’t you do it?” Harry asked.

“Because Draco closed the wards so I can’t get in and since Weasley shares a room with him I figured, maybe, you could help?” Zabini seemed genuine with this request and Draco had already missed two full detentions. He didn’t know how many more he could miss without McGonagall busting into his room herself. Heck, Harry wasn’t even sure what stopped her from doing it already. 

“I’ll do it, but you’ll owe me,” Hermione said after a few minutes of awkward silence. 

“Deal.”

\---

Hermione had a plan. Of course, she does, when has she ever not? The only problem with her plan was timing. Draco had missed out on so much class already, and detentions, ‘Not to mention when he asked Harry to help him with a Patronus’ she thought, that he needed to be out of bed and back to normal as soon as possible. 

So she skipped Arithmancy to write a letter to Parkinson and duplicate her notes from all the classes she knew Malfoy took. Blaise said he’d handle the rest. She’d have to ask Ginny to mail it since she’s the only person who knows the Slytherin’s whereabouts. ‘Kinda funny how they ended up together,’ she thought. 

Hermione placed the letter on Ginny’s desk in her room before heading to the room Ron shared with Malfoy. She knew this wouldn’t be easy. She could only hope that if she failed, Parkinson wouldn’t. 

“Malfoy?” She asked approaching his bed with cation. 

“Fuck off.” She heard from the curtains. 

“Malfoy, come on. Blaise is worried about you.”

“Tell him to fuck off.” 

“You’ve missed two days of school and detentions. The headmistress is going to have your head if you miss another without explanation.” 

“Granger, I don’t need you in here telling me what I already know and took care of. Please leave,” Malfoy pleaded.

“No,” Hermione said, sitting down in his desk chair. She placed the duplicate notes down and looked back at the drawn curtains. “If you don’t come out I’ll have to bring in someone who will get you out,” she threatened. 

Malfoy scoffed, “Please. Who would you even bring in? Blaise and Theo can’t get in and I doubt anyone else would care.”

“You’re right, Blaise and Theo can’t get in, but Pansy can and Harry for that matter. Both of whom I know will hex you out of that bed without a second thought.” 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I already sent Pansy a letter and Harry is coming up here with Ron in about,” she cast a Tempus, “Thirty minutes. Your move.” 

“Stupid Gryffindors,” she heard him mutter as he pulled back the curtains. “Fine, but I’m not going to be happy about it,” he grumbled. 

“No one said you had to Malfoy,” she smiled as he walked into the bathroom. “I’ll be in the common room waiting. And don’t think for a second that I won’t come back up here.”


	8. Maybe a Heart to Heart?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHA!!!!! I move on August the 21st! And I packed up all my art supplies so I have nothing to occupy my time with. Anyway... Hope you like this chapter!!!!!!!!
> 
> OOOOOO And, I love reading your comments!!!! They make me so happy! You guys are so sweet!!!!

Draco had to admit that Granger coming to get him was a surprise, but it wasn’t as much of a surprise as having Potter bust into the room while Draco was half-naked. He’d just finished putting his trousers on, _‘Thankfully,’_ he thought, when Potter had walked into the room looking slightly angry and maybe a little… Worried? No, maybe something else. Potter wouldn’t be worried about him. 

“Oh, uh, sorry. I was just checking to make sure that you weren’t in bed again. Hermione asked me too,” he stated while he rubbed the back of his neck. A sheepish smile slid onto his face.

“Why didn’t Weasley? It’s his room too,” Draco asked. 

“Well, uh, let’s just say. He and ‘Moine wanted to be left alone,” Potter said while he rubbed his neck more. He even blushed a little. 

“Please don’t tell me more. I want to actually make it to the Great Hall for dinner without throwing up.”

“I know how you feel,” Potter said with a chuckle. He went and sat down on Weasley’s bed as he looked around the room. Draco also had to admit that Potter got taller over the summer. Now he had to look up at him. 

_‘He also got super hot,’_ Draco thought.

“What was that?” Potter asked, turning to look at him.

“What was what?” Draco squeaked. He was fairly certain he didn’t just say that out loud, or he was hoping he didn’t. Maybe he had a chance to play it off?

“Not you,” Potter said. 

“I don’t mean to be rude, Potter, but I’m the only person in the room beside you. Have you gone mad or something?” Draco mocked.

“I’m a parseltongue, idiot, and you own a snake,” Potter snapped back at him. 

And that’s when Draco remembered Orion. His poor snake probably hadn’t eaten in days and he carelessly just laid in bed. He glanced over to his bed to find the snake curled up, chewing on a piece of pork from a little bowl beside his plate of food from lunch labeled ‘Master Snake’. Orion lifted his head, hissing before going back to eating. Draco was glad he had a bowl. Poor Orion. He was a terrible pet owner. Not only was he a terrible pet owner, but his entire side of the room was nasty. There were books everywhere and parchment on the floor. When had he become such a slob?

“Orion says ‘stop worrying’,” Potter said, “He says it smells like wet dog and… gasoline?” 

Draco looked over at his snake to find it nodding. “Ok,” he said weakly. 

“Draco, what’s wrong?” Potter asked in a small voice. Draco still hadn’t put a shirt on and was just kind of standing there. Half-naked. In front of Harry Bloody Potter. His arch-nemesis and the one thing he had hope in just a few months ago. However, it was Harry’s question, in that small, sweet tone, that made Draco suddenly very self-conscious. 

“Nothing you need to worry about, Potter. It’s fine,” he responded. Should he tell Harry about his father? No, that might lead to Potter doing something Potter-ish. Draco couldn’t have that.

“Then why is Blaise coming up to us asking us for help? Not to mention the really weird conversation he had with me on Saturday. Orion’s worried about you too, but he says it’s your secret to tell. What’s wrong? Maybe I can help…” Potter tried again. He looked genuinely worried now with his big green emerald eyes. Draco wanted to dive into those eyes and never surface. 

“I’ll be fine. I don’t need you to save me. It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Draco assured. 

“Draco, you can tell me what’s wrong. I-”

“Potter! I said it’s fine. I don’t need your help nor do I want to talk to you about it,” Draco snapped. 

“Ok, well I’m here if you need me,” Potter said with a smile. ‘Damn. He’s kinda cute when he smiles,’ Draco thought. 

He grabbed a random shirt and threw it on. He didn’t even care if it was clean. All he could think about was how hungry he was. He wanted a bucket of chips. Just chips. And maybe something sweet. Definitely something sweet. 

“Uhhh, Draco?” Harry asked. 

“What is it, Potter?” 

  
“You got a little drool there…” He said, pointing to the side of Draco’s mouth. 

“Oh... Sorry, not very classy,” Draco said as he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. 

\---

Harry didn’t know what Malfoy was going through, but he was definitely going to find out. 

As they walked down the corridors to the Great Hall, Harry noticed that Draco was wearing a muggle band t-shirt? No, not just any muggle band. Queen, and it wasn’t loose either. It fit to Draco’s frame perfectly, showing off his well-toned arms. Not to mention… Abs? ‘SSSTTOOOOPPPP,’ Harry thought. 

“You’re weird, you know that?” Harry heard from his side. He looked over to fins Orion, resting on Draco’s shoulder looking at him. 

“How so?” Harry asked. 

“One minute you’re staring at Draco like you want to kiss him and the next you look away repulsed. So, which is it? Because you can’t have both.” 

Draco, of course, took this time to look up at Harry. 

“Does he always have to come?” Harry asked as they turned into an alcove and stopped. Draco was out of breath. Probably because he didn’t have a lot of energy. Harry didn’t know how much he ate or got up since he stayed in his room. 

“Yes.” Draco clarified once he was ok. 

“Bet you wish he looked at you the way he looks at me,” Orion said. Harry swore he saw the snake smirk. 

“Shut up.” 

“You never answered my question,” Orion said. Which caused Harry to look at Draco’s lips. They looked soft, but he wasn’t even sure he was gay or liked boys. Plus they like hated each other six days ago. 

\---

Ginny walked into her shared room without a care in the world. She had a wonderful day because her beautiful girlfriend (Her words, not mine lol sorry Pans) was coming to Hogsmeade next week for their three month anniversary. However, she still needed to break the news to Ron. And maybe the rest of her family. 

She was just freshening up for dinner when something on her desk caught her eye. 

Dear Ginny, 

I hope you don’t mind but, I need you to send this letter to Pansy as soon as possible. It’s about Draco. I fear he is not feeling well and they are best friends, so I figured she could help. He hasn’t left his room in four days and if I fail to get him out, I’m hoping she will be able to. 

I hope you are focusing on your studies and not purely on quidditch and your girlfriend. 

Love you,

Hermione

Ginny looked at the sealed envelope laying under the note. She would go down to deliver the letter after dinner. And after she talked to Draco. 

She was confused about her feelings for the male, but she knew he wasn’t all bad. True, he fought on the wrong side in the war, but he also tossed Harry his wand which saved a lot of people. And as much as he tried to hide, Ginny saw him at Fred’s funeral. Not only that, but she liked talking to him. He knew a great amount about quidditch and Pansy. So, after a tiny debate, she knew she had to find him.

She shouldn’t have expected more of a challenge when it came to finding the Slytherin. Of course, he would be with Harry. As much as those two idiots stalked and obsessed over each other? Please, there was nowhere else for him to be. 

“Hey, Harry! Hey, Draco!” She said as she walked up to the two boys in an alcove talking. 

“Ginny! Hey. What are you doing here?” Harry asked. He looked guilty. 

“Going to dinner like you two probably should. Why do you look guilty?” Narrowing her eyes at Harry. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked innocently.

“Harry.” She threatened. 

“I don’t look guilty,” he clarified as he glanced over at Draco. 

“Fine. I need to talk to Draco, do you mind leaving for a minute? It’s a private matter…” She asked. 

“Oh, um, sure. I’ll see you guys later.” Harry said, waving at the two of them as he walked to the Great Hall. He still looked guilty. 

After a minute or two of silence, Ginny looked around to make sure they were alone. She knew Draco probably wouldn’t want the whole school knowing anything about him now. 

“Pansy’s coming to Hogsmeade next week,” She said the break the silence. 

“Oh?” Draco’s eyebrow shot up. He looked surprised and a little worried. If Ginny were a Slytherin in his shoes, she would have been worried too. Pansy could be ruthless at times. 

“Yeah, and I should probably warn you, she’s not going to like hearing about you not leaving your room for four days straight.”

“She’ll get over it,” he said nonchalantly, “she’ll probably just talk about some girl she’s been dating. She always does.”

“Don’t start acting like that.” 

“Like what?”

“Like that. All silent and giving short ass answers. I thought we were friends now,” Ginny said and she meant it. She liked talking to Draco and them being friends would make Pansy happy. But more importantly, he would be more help than Ron with quidditch. Especially since the Eighth years can’t play. Meaning he could possibly help her. 

“You haven’t talked to me since the first day of school.”

“Ok, you make a point.” 

“What do you want Ginerva?” Merlin, she disliked that name. It was so formal, so not her. She visibly winced. 

“I like Ginny better,” she said. 

“What do you want Ginny?”

“I want you to talk to someone about what’s going on. And don’t tell me nothing’s going on. I know something is. Maybe talking to someone will help. Merlin knows it did for me.” She thought about after Fred died. How she was so sad and lonely and didn’t want to do anything. She thought about the apology letter from Pansy and how she responded, not knowing why, but just knowing that whatever she wrote in that letter made her feel a little bit better. She also remembered the response she got back, about seeing a mind healer. The mind healer helped, it didn’t cure her but it helped. And Pansy helped too. ‘Gosh, I’m such a lovesick puppy’ she thought. 

“Ok,” Draco said. 

“So… Who are you planning to talk to?” Ginny asked after a minute. 

“I don’t know yet.”

“Harry’s a great listener.”

“I don’t trust Harry.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because he’ll do something brave and stupid and most likely break the law in the process. Plus every time we talk we fight and argue. I’ll talk to Pansy.”

“Yeah, ok. Now let’s go eat,” Ginny said. She hoped he and Harry would work things out. If he wanted people to stop hexing him, he’d need to be friends with Harry. However, Ginny knew she couldn’t control him, nor did she want to. 

\---

Draco walked into the headmistresses’ office expecting to be yelled at. Yes, Blaise had told her what had happened per Draco’s request, but he didn’t think he’d get away unscathed. So when McGonagall dismissed him and Harry to go clean the potions room without so much as a second glance, he was shocked.

"What is it?" Harry asked as they were walking away.

"I just expected her to get mad is all," Draco responded. 

"Well, I'm glad she didn't."

\---

Draco's week went on like that. Thanks to mostly Hermione and a little bit of Blaise, he was caught back up in his classes by Friday. He and Harry didn't fight at all, and they even planned to work on Draco's Patronus that weekend. Of course, Draco still laid in bed longer than he should have, and sometimes he'd have to stop in the halls because thoughts of his father would pop into his head, but it was ok. He was going to talk to Pansy when she got here and everything was going to be alright. He hoped. 


	9. Pansy's Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am ALIVE! I wanted to update this like 2 days ago but had no motivation to write, sooooooo yeah. 
> 
> Don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter, I just couldn't continue this one and feel ok about it.

Draco’s week was going pretty well. He’d spent all of Saturday in his room of course, but Blaise came and so did Theo. Once Weasley got back from hanging out with the Potter and Granger they played a few rounds of chess. He proved to be more skilled than both Blaise and Theo combined. Weasley wasn’t too bad to talk to either, though he wasn’t nearly as cool as his sister.

They went to Hogsmeade Sunday to get some sweets. Merlin did both of them have a sweet tooth. Potter and Granger had some studying to do, which Draco translated into, ‘Potter has to study and Granger is either helping him or shoving her nose into a book while freaking out’. Draco also got Orion a rock cave for his enclosure. The snake deserved a little cave to curl up in.

“No offense, but you’ve got one of the weirdest looking snakes I’ve ever seen,” Weasley said on their walk back up to the castle.

“I take full offense to that,” Draco joked. Orion lifted his head off of Draco’s shoulder to glare at Ron.

“Sod off,” Weasley laughed. 

Potter met up with him later, once they were back at Hogwarts. They had stayed close to the forbidden forest and he taught Draco the basics of casting a Patronus. Of course, Draco made snarky comments he probably should have kept to himself, but Harry either laughed or just rolled his eyes.

Monday and Tuesday went on as normal. He and Potter started to sit next to each other in the classes they shared. They didn’t talk, just sat next to each other. This development caused Draco to not get hexed as much anymore. 

Once Wednesday came around Draco was feeling a lot better because Pansy was arriving later in the afternoon. However, Draco was also dreading her arrival because he had promised Ginny he would talk to Pansy about what was troubling him. So while he had a smile on his face, he was a nervous wreck on the inside. He wasn’t even sure talking to someone would help him feel better. He still had this feeling of a cloud over his head, he stayed in bed longer than he should have, and although his hygiene was as perfect as ever, Draco felt himself finding it harder and harder to care about his looks. This was all after being dragged out of bed and everyone being nice to him so how would talking help? ‘Maybe Ginny hit her head too hard fighting with her brothers,’ he thought. 

Then Draco got caught up in trying to remember how Ginny knew Pansy. Sure, all that crazy stuff from the year before happened, but they like hated each other didn’t they? Why had she known when Pansy would be coming? Not only that but had Ginny called his best friend by her first name on Thursday? Draco couldn’t remember, he wanted to ask but maybe that was something best left to them. He didn’t want to piss his new friend off, especially since she kind of scared him. 

Once it was time for her train to arrive, Draco’s head hurt. Blaise and Theo accompanied him down to the train station. He invited Ginny, but she declined, saying something about an essay. 

“BOYS!!!” Pansy shouted as she hopped, literally hopped Draco noticed, off of the train. Draco also noticed the dirty looks and whispers that were aimed at the Slytherins but he couldn’t bring himself to care as Pansy strolled up and hugged them tightly. “Draco, darling, you’re looking a bit thin,” she commented into his ear. Merlin, he forgot how much she sounded like his mother. 

“Oh, Pansy quit fussing, you only just got here. Come on, McGonagall said you can stay with some of the girls in the Seventh and Eighth-year dorms. I’ll get your bags,” Blaise said. 

\---

Pansy knew Draco. She prided herself on how well she knew her fellow Slytherin, cause while he was obsessed with Harry Potter, she was obsessed with him. Of course, that was before she realized she liked girls. So when she got off the train and saw how fragile her friend looked, she silently thanked Granger for her early warning. He clearly hadn’t been eating as much as he should have, wore every emotion he felt on his face, and his entire body turned red when he blushed due to how pale he was. Pansy found herself wishing she had come sooner. 

The four of them entered the common room laughing. She was shocked at how pretty the place was. Not as luxurious as the Slytherin dungeons, but so much cozier. She might actually be able to nap in a place like this. Glancing around the room, her eyes settled onto a very gorgeous red-head sitting on the couch laughing with the golden trio. The corners of her mouth turned up instantly. 

“Pansy!” Ginny shouted. It took every nerve in her body not to run over and kiss the girl of her dreams. They had decided to keep their relationship private until they were sure Draco and Ron specifically were ready. Of course, some people knew, like Granger and Luna though. 

“Miss me?” She asked as she strolled up to the group. 

“Nice to see you, Parkinson,” Potter said. 

“You too, Potter. Now, who’s room am I staying in, darlings? I had a very long train ride and some sleep would dome wonders.” 

“I believe that would be mine,” Ginny said. 

“Wonderful. Blaise,” she called waving her hand t him, “just put my bags in Ginerva’s room please.” 

“You want him to take the one’s under your eyes too?” Draco asked. The whole room froze for a minute as Draco looked at Pansy in pure (Completly fake, she noted) fear. Potter was the first to laugh at this. And pansy swore under her breath as she watched a light shine in Draco’s eyes as he heard the sound. She laughed along with everyone, but she didn’t feel truly happy, because her best friend was in love and it was going to get him killed.


	10. A Talk With Pansy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurray!!!!! New Chapter!!!!!! 
> 
> Working on Chapter 11 now!
> 
> Loving seeing the comments!

Harry was thrilled when Pansy arrived. Not because he liked her or anything, but because now Draco would be happier. The stupid prat didn’t really talk to anyone except Blaise. It made Harry get a weird sensation in his stomach. It made him want to punch Blaise. Which probably wouldn’t go over well, Harry decided as he got dressed.

Harry was less thrilled on that Thursday when he went up to Ron’s room only to overhear a conversation he probably shouldn’t have. 

“I’m just saying Draco, you can’t stay there, and neither can your mother. He’s not safe, darling,” Pansy said. Her voice shook a little with her grave tone. Harry paused at the door.

“Yeah mate, Parkinson’s right. I mean, it’s a pretty bad situation,” Ron chimed in.

“Where will we go? Who will take us? The ministry seized all of the money my mother was meant to get from Bellatrix and Potter has the rest of the Black fortune, and I can’t access the Malfoy vault until the very man I’m trying to get away from dies and half of that is in ministry hands too,” Draco hissed. “We would be living on the streets and that’s not exactly good for two Death Eaters.” 

“Ex-Death Eaters, neither of you had a choice and you both helped keep my best mate alive. Which reminds me, you could always ask Harry for help,” Ron suggested. 

“NO!” Pansy and Draco yelled at the same time. Harry winced. So much for trying to help. Maybe he was reading everything wrong. What if Draco didn’t want to be friends and was just faking everything? Harry’s chest ached. 

“Don’t mope, it’s not a good look on you.” A little voice from below him scolded. Orion curled up his leg. “He only says that because he thinks you’ll do something stupid.” 

“What do you mean?” Harry hissed back.

“I mean, he doesn’t want you to be all brave and rescue him. He wants to keep you out of trouble,” Orion continued looking unamused with the whole situation, “you should probably go. This isn’t something he wants you to hear.” 

Harry’s heart broke a little more after hearing that. Draco felt like he had to go through something alone? Sure, their friendship was new, but Harry felt the urge to protect Draco. He would never tell another living soul this, but he found the git kind of attractive. The Gryffindor started to turn to leave. 

“Wait for me to get on your shoulder, you incompetent fool,” Orion hisses angrily. 

“Why not?” He heard Ron ask at the same time. 

“Because Draco’s in love with him,” Pansy reply was followed by a shriek that Harry was pretty certain was Ron’s. Even though he knew he should probably leave, he found himself turning back to listen closer. 

“NO, I’m not!” Came Draco’s quick, very unconvincing due to the level of octaves his voice raised, cry. 

“Oh, good. You’re not too stupid,” Orion said in Harry’s ear. “Unfortunately, you can’t snoop in this conversation anymore. Come on, Let’s go.” Harry stood firm, not moving. His mind was racing and he was pretty sure he should absolutely walk into the room right now. “Um, Hello? Whatever nasty thought that has you aroused right now can wait. If Draco finds out you heard that, he’ll kill you and Pansy. Which will lead to Ginny killing you. Come on. Move to the common room. We need to talk.”

Harry’s feet may have been moving, but his mind stayed in the same place. Draco Malfoy, his biggest rival, newest friend, the Slytherin Prince, liked him. Harry Potter. He didn’t notice he was in front of the fire until Orion spoke again. 

“Dude, you’re weird.” 

\---

Draco didn’t know what he was expecting when he woke up on Thursday morning, but it certainly wasn’t a certain black-haired Griffindor to be on his mind. Of course, that ended rather quickly when Pansy burst into the room at exactly 6:01. 

“Good morning, darling! Ginny said there’s something you need to talk to me about?” She looked at him skeptically. 

“Go away,” came Ron’s voice from across the room. Draco felt the same way, but he knew Pansy wouldn’t hesitate to hex him. Or send Ginny on him. Speaking of which, he still needed to know when they became so close. 

“Oh, sorry Ronald. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just need to talk to dear Draco here.” She replied with a flick of her wrist in his direction. 

“Is it about last weekend?” Ron asked, peeking his head out from behind his curtains. His hair was all messed up and he was yawning. 

“Hm, yes. Now dearest, tell me.” Pansy said while sitting down. 

Draco looked at Ron. Sure, they were friends-ish now, but did he really trust him with this? He decided that maybe two heads would be better than just one. 

“It’s my father,” he confessed, “They’re releasing him from Azkaban next week and I’m scared. He put his trust in the losing side of the war, he hasn’t been the same since. At first, it was just snide little remarks here and there… and then just full out yelling and screaming and blaming me and my mother. A week before the conviction and he hit her. If it wasn’t for Potter having my wand… I don’t- I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

“Draco. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Pansy asked in a quiet voice. He looked up, seeing her worry and Ron’s as the ginger was now sitting on the side of his bed too. 

“I just didn’t want to worry anyone. You had your trial to worry about and Weasley over here wasn’t even my friend yet. I didn’t think anyone would care to listen either, with me being a Death Eater and all.” He mumbled. 

“Ex-Death Eater,” Ron corrected. 

“So, what are we going to do about it?” Pansy asked.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Draco whispered. He could see her heartbreak but he was right. No one would help a Death Eater or Ex-Death Eater. Draco didn’t blame them. 

“You guys could stay with me and my-” she started

“No, Pansy. He’ll find us.” 

“What about Blaise?” She pleaded, voice getting softer.

“Have you met his mother?” Draco countered. 

“Theo?” She whispered. 

“Theo, who’s parents are both in Azkaban and who can barely support himself? It’s useless. No one’s going to take us anyway. Just drop it.” 

“I’m just saying Draco, you can’t stay there, and neither can your mother. He’s not safe, darling,” Pansy said. Her voice shook from how upset he’d made her. 

“Yeah mate, Parkinson’s right. I mean, it’s a pretty bad situation,” Ron said. Draco was surprised he even cared. It was weird, having friends who looked out for each other instead of themselves first. 

“Where will we go? Who will take us? The ministry seized all of the money my mother was meant to get from Bellatrix and Potter has the rest of the Black fortune, and I can’t access the Malfoy vault until the very man I’m trying to get away from dies and half of that is in ministry hands too,” Draco hissed. “We would be living on the streets and that’s not exactly good for two Death Eaters.” Draco’s stomach hurt. It was twisting and turning, a feeling he was not too fond of. He was on the verge of tears. 

“Ex-Death Eaters, neither of you had a choice and you both helped keep my best mate alive. Which reminds me, you could always ask Harry for help,” Ron suggested. 

“NO!” Pansy yelled in unison with Draco. Merlin was that a bad idea. What would he do if Potter got involved? The reckless Grifindor had already lived through enough in his life, and Draco didn’t need some beautifully tan, boy, fixing his problems. 

“Why not?” Ron asked. 

“Because Draco’s in love with him,” Pansy replied causing Draco to shriek. There was no way she just said that! Especially not in front of Potter’s best friend! Not only that but Draco hadn’t even admitted he liked Potter to himself so how did she know?

“NO, I’m not!” Draco squeaked out. 

“Sure,” Ron said with sarcasm laced voice. 

“What?!” He squeaked again as they both laughed. “You know what? I’m done with this conversation! I’m going to get something to eat,” He said as he stormed off, still in his pajamas. He almost didn’t notice Potter sitting on the couch until he heard a hiss. Draco spun around just in time to see Potter laughing with Orion sitting in front of the fire looking at Draco. Draco would have bet a lot of money that the look on his snaked face was a smirk.


	11. Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short Chapter.  
> I will be out of town for the weekend so figured I should update now!  
> I move next week!!!! yay!! (Don't worry, there will be an update!)  
> Also, I promise I'm getting sleep, I just HAD to finish this up tonight because Just-AAHHH  
> Ok, I hope you enjoy it!!!!   
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!!!!

“Dude, you’re weird,” Orion said sliding off of Harry’s shoulder to get closer to the fire.

“Yeah? Well, you’re annoying.” Harry snapped back. He was starting to dislike where this was going. 

“Are you insulting a snake right now?” Orion asked while squinting at Harry. 

“You really are Malfoy’s pet, aren’t you?”

“Who else’s pet would I be?” Orion asked defensively. 

“Fair enough. What did you want to talk bout?” Harry asked when he felt the conversation was getting nowhere. 

“Oh, right. You should have tea with Narcissa on Monday.”

“Why?”

“Because,”

“Not a good enough reason,” Harry said. He didn't want to admit that he probably should have some sort of conversation or interaction with Mrs. Malfoy eventually. She did save his life and everything, it seemed like the least he could do. However, Harry didn't know the snake's motives. 

“Fine. For Draco.” Harry’s heart began to race when Orion said this. He decided it was best to play it off as if he didn’t care, asking 'why' again.

“Because you just should, Trust me”

“Alright, I’ll think about it.”

“Fair enough. Do you have any control over your hair?”

“No.”

“Maybe that’s why Draco likes it.” 

“Potter?” Draco squeaked with bright red stains on his cheeks. “Orion? What’s going on here? Orion, come.” 

“Draco! Hi!” Harry said, standing up so fast the room started to spin.

“Idiot,” Orion muttered causing Harry to shoot him a glare once his head settled down. 

\---

‘This is going to be fun,’ Orion thought as he slithered up to Draco. “Tell me, Pot-tah,” Orion said as he slid up Draco’s arm, “what do you think of our lovely Draco’s hair? All messed up and disarray.” He could see the raven-haired male gulp, face heating up, and pupils dilate. 

“It’s fine,” Harry lied. 

“You know I can smell your emotions, right?” He hissed. 

Harry gulped again. 

“Ask him out,” 

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Ask, Him Out”

“What? No”

“Some Griffindor you are”

“It’s not that”

“You already know he likes you, he’d throw himself at your feet right now if he wasn’t paralyzed with a mix of embarrassment and arousal, and you like him.”

“Stop smelling my emotions”

“I don’t have to smell emotions to know you like him, Idiot.”

“I’m not ready”

“That’s too bad. Guess Theo will get the chance you won’t take then”

“What?” Potter scowled.

“Well, he has been trying for a while now, I think Draco’s going to take him up on the offer…” Orion dragged out. 

“Draco, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday?” Harry asked in Parseltongue. He looked at Draco expectantly while Orion felt like facepalming, he totally would have if he could. 

“What do you want?” Draco asked confused.

“I asked if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday” Potter repeated, getting slightly frustrated. Orion had no clue what Draco saw in this human, it was not one of the brightest or most attractive. There had been plenty of men Draco met over the summer that seemed nice. None of them could hold a conversation with the snake though, so maybe that was a pro. None of them seemed to get under Draco’s skin like this one either though and Draco had only a few conversations here and there with those men so Orion never got to know them very well. 

“Oh, well I don’t speak snake so excuse me for not understanding,” Draco snapped. 

“Don’t be an arse,” Potter replied. Orion could smell a little bit of fear coming off the boy. 

“You started it,” Draco accused. Orion laughed inwardly at this. Maybe the less Draco knew the better. 

“Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday, or not?”

“I thought we were already going together, with our friends and stuff”

“I meant just you and me.” 

“Oh, well, are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll come to get you at 6?”

“I- ok. I guess”

“Great,” Potter said before walking to the front of the common room. “Oh, and It’s like a date, you know If you’re cool with that?” 

“Potter, where is this coming from?”

“I just don’t want to throw away my shot. You know?” He said before leaving them alone.

“What did you do, you sneaky little snake?” Draco asked, scratching Orion’s chin. The snake just flicked his tongue out. 

\---

Harry spent the rest of Thursday and all of Friday thinking about his date with Draco. Where was he going to take him? What would they do? What if he blew it? Why had he listened to a snake? So when Saturday morning came Harry walked to Ginny’s room in hopes of finding Pansy. 

“Hey Gin is Pans- OH MY GOD,” Harry shrieked when he walked in the room to find Pansy in Ginny’s lap and the two girls making out. They split apart as fast as humanly possible, both growing bright red and Pansy falling on the floor. 

“HARRY!!!!! Have you EVER heard of KNOCKING!?” Ginny yelled. 

“Sorry! I’m sorry! I just came to ask Pansy something,” He confessed. 

“It’s alright darling. Guess we don’t have to wait till Christmas after all,” Pansy said, getting up and brushing imaginary dirt off of her black skirt. 

“You can’t tell Ron!” Ginny said, “He’ll flip out and-” 

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Harry confirmed, “Now, Pansy. We need to talk.” 

“About what?”

“I’m taking Draco on a date tonight and well, I need help with everything,” Harry said. He immediately regretted the decision to ask Pansy for help once both girls squealed, he probably should have gone to Hermione. 

“Ok,” Pansy said, “Here’s what you need to know.”


	12. Getting Ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I moved and had class and just have been really sad so like this is short and super late! I’m sorry!!!!

Draco was super nervous when five O’clock came around. He paced around the room with his mind racing. The guy he’s liked since he was eleven had not only asked him out but was picking him up in only an hour. ‘What if this is just some trick?’ he thought. But then he remembered that Harry’s not like that. He wouldn’t pull a prank like this on anyone. 

Was his outfit good enough? Yeah, designer top and some muggle skinny jeans that showed off his ass. Perfect for a date he knew nothing about. Did he need to change though? Maybe he should style his hair differently? Should he ask Pansy if he could borrow her body glitter? ‘No, definitely not,’ he decided. Harry hadn’t told him anything about the date so he had no clue what to expect. Draco was thankful that Ron had left with Granger earlier that day. Although they were friends now, he didn’t think the redhead would be too keen on him going out with his best mate. 

He was thrown out of his thoughts when the door to his dorm slammed open and Pansy came strutting in followed by Luna. 

“Your heroes have arrived,” she stated while throwing her hands up and grinning at Draco. 

“What? Why are you here?” He asked frantically while he scrambled to close the door. There was no need for the entire dorm to hear them. 

“Pansy said you needed help, so I came with her,” Luna said with a dreamlike smile. 

“It’s true, darling, and after seeing that outfit, I’m glad I came. There is no way you will be wearing that on your date,” Pansy declared. 

“Pans, I literally have a better sense of fashion than even you. Plus, I know nothing about this date and I’m going on it, so this outfit is perfect. Wait, how do you know about my date? I didn’t tell anyone about it…” 

“Potter needed some help with a little planning and I provided. Also darling, as fashionable as that outfit is, I already picked out a better one.” Pansy started to go to his closet, “Oh and Luna’s going to do some makeup, nothing too heavy just some mascara and such. She’s also here to calm your nerves.” She said as Luna sat Draco down on the bed. 

“Thank you, I was kind of freaking out for a minute there,” Draco said as Luna began to put some mascara on his lashes. 

“No problem darling. I know you can’t live without me. Now, put this top on,” Pansy said as she thrust some silky green fabric at Draco. “You can keep the jeans,” Pansy stated. Luna finished up with her mascara job and began to swat around his ears. 

“Luna? You good?” Draco asked. 

“There are probably some wrackspurts around. Just trying to get them all away before your date. Why were you worrying?” Luna asked. 

“I just got in my head, I guess. I was worried they might just be playing a trick on me,” he admitted. 

“I don’t think you’d let yourself go out with someone who’d do that,” Luna assured him. 

“Thanks, Luna,” Draco smiled. Luna hummed back to him as she applied some lip gloss only to decide she didn’t like it and wipe it off. Pansy did something to his hair, he didn’t know what but he really didn’t like her hands all in it messing it up. 

“I never liked your hair slicked back, but I think like this it will work,” Pansy told him. 

When Draco looked in the mirror he saw that she fluffed his hair up a bit and gave it a little bit of a wild look. He liked the way it made him younger, not as broken as before. 

“Alright darling, you should be good now. Harry will be here in a few minutes. Don’t mess this up,” Pansy said. She finished with a kiss on his cheek. Draco watched them leave, Luna winking at him before she walked out. ‘I can do this,’ he thought as he paced the room a little more.


	13. The Date (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can thank my roommates for making me stay up and write this because I would’ve never done it due to a loss in creativity. So yeah thanks Meg, Ella, and Syd! Anyway, this is part one, part two will be here soon! Love you guys! Leave comments and such and yeah let’s jump into the chapter now.

When Draco opened the door, Harry had to hold back a gasp. He looked like a god standing in the door with his white hair messed up in a way that made it stylish and a silky green top. 

“You’re drooling,” Draco said. 

god with his snow-white hair messed up but still stylish. His silky green top fit his chest perfectly and he wore low slung jeans. 

“You’re drooling,” Draco said.

“Sorry,” Harry muttered as he swiped the back of his sleeve across his mouth. “You ready to go?” He asked. Draco nodded his head and they walked down the halls of Hogwarts in silence. No one said anything until they reached the train station and even then it was just simple small talk. 

“So… how’s your mum?” Harry asked. He really should take Narcissa up on her tea offer. She did save his life after all. 

“She’s good. A little worried but overall good,” Draco replied. Harry could tell he was holding something back and he wanted to ask what but, he didn’t think it would go over well for their first date. 

“He’ll tell you in time,” Orion said from his position around Draco’s neck.

“I’m not trying to be rude or anything,” Harry started to say.

“Usually that means something rude follows,” Draco cut him off. Harry laughed at this. True, he wasn’t trying to be rude and he didn’t want Draco to shut him out but he just had to ask. 

“Do you always have Orion with you?” 

“He was a gift from Mother. He’s stuck by my side even when I didn’t want him to and despite everything, he’s cool for a snake. So yes, yes I do always have him. He makes me happy I guess. Why?” Draco said. Harry was stunned. Not only was this probably the most Draco has said at once this year, but it’s also the most vulnerable thing he’s ever heard Draco say. 

“I was just curious. He talks a lot,” Harry replied. Which might not have been the smartest idea since Draco shot the snake look of horror and curiosity. Then again, when did harry ever really make smart ideas? “It’s just small talk and stuff,” Harry continued. 

“Thanks, Potter but I can save myself from Draco,” Said Orion. 

“And stuff…” Draco mumbled, “like what?”

“Uh, well, you know just, stuff and things, and you…” Harry trailed off. 

“And me?” Draco asked, quirking an eyebrow up.

“Nothing bad, I swear! It’s more like about” Harry was cut off by Draco’s laughter. 

“I swear Potter. You just got redder than a cherry.” He laughed out. And for the second time that night, Harry found himself holding in a gasp. Draco’s laugh sounded like the prettiest bells. Like a wind chime. He was certain that by now there was no question about it, Harry was definitely attracted to men just as much as he was to women. 

Just then the door of the cart opened revealing a small little Slytherin girl with brown hair who couldn’t be more than 12. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked scared. 

“Hello,” Harry said. 

“Do you mind if I stay in here for a minute?” She asked frantically throwing a look behind her. 

“Uhh,” Harry said looking at Draco who shook his head. “Sure,” Harry said. 

“Thank you,” she squealed out as she ran into the car closing the door behind her. She sat close to the door almost as if she wanted to disappear into the wall. 

“You ok?” Harry asked her. 

She turned to look at him. “Yeah,” she said in a small voice, “I just sat in the wrong car when I first got on.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I came with my sister from hog warts and I sat down while she went with her friend somewhere and then some Gryffindor boys said that I was in their car so I left.” She said.   
Harry knew she was holding something back but he didn’t want to pressure her. 

“Who’s your sister?” Draco asked

“Abby Compton, she’s a Hufflepuff,” she said with tears in her eyes. 

“Year?” Harry asked.

“Fifth,” she said in a small voice. 

“Hey, it’s ok. We’ll find her, yeah?” Harry asked as he got down on his knees in front of her. “What’s your name?” 

“Penelope.” She said. 

“Ok, well, you stay here with Draco and I’ll go see if I can find your sister, Yeah?” Harry asked. “Draco’s a Slytherin too, so he’ll look out for you.”

“Ok.”

“Ok,” Harry smiled at her before turning on the balls of his feet to look at Draco. “I’m going to go find her sister, you good to stay here?” 

“Yeah,” Draco replied. And with that Harry left to go find Abby. Which wasn’t hard because about one cart over was a Hufflepuff student looking around frantically, breathing hard. Some Gryffindors and Ravenclaws seemed to be looking around too. 

“Hey, are you Abby?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” the Hufflepuff replied. She had pink hair, probably dyed that way and a nose piercing. 

“You’re sister is in the car with my date right now,” 

“Ok thank god!” Abby replied as she followed Harry towards where Draco was with the little slytherin. Once they were there Harry had to hold back the impulse to say aww as he watched Draco teach Penelope how to cast a spell. 

“That’s your date?” Abby asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said unsure if she would say something nasty. 

“People won’t like it, but I never thought of Draco as truly bad. He was mislead. He could’ve fought back tho, but he was mislead.”

“Very wise for a fifth year.” 

“We went through a war. You either get wise or die.” 

“What did your parents think when Penelope was sorted into slytherin?” Harry asked wanting to change the subject off of the war. 

“They didn’t really care. They knew Slytherin’s look out for each other and are fiercely loyal to their friends. They knew she’d be safe. They knew even more when the Slytherin’s took the kids who couldn’t make it home before the battles into the dungeons to protect them and when they disillusioned themselves into people from other houses to help our side of the war. There was a lot you missed while dying Mister Potter. Not all Slytherin’s are evil. Not all Gryffindors are good.” She said with a far away look in her eyes as she watched Draco with her sister. 

“Just making sure. I know not everyone would be thrilled to have a Slytherin in the family now.” Harry replied. Which was true. There were a few howlers every now and then of parents yelling at their kids for either being friends with the snakes or for getting sorted into Slytherin. 

“Well, we should leave you two to your date,” Abby said after a while. She opened the car door and coaxed Penelope out. They left after Penelope hugged Draco and Harry goodbye. 

“Well that was fun,” Draco said. 

“You’re good with kids,” Harry told him which made Draco turn bright red. 

“Shut up, Potter,” Draco replied. Harry just laughed at that.


	14. The Date (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Short little entry, sorry for being gone so long. I Will update again soon, a little busy though. Hope you like it!

Once the train stopped Harry grabbed Draco’s hand and lead him to a nearby park where Ginny had set up a picnic that Pansy planned out. Harry knew it would be perfect for Draco because Pansy knew him better than anyone else, besides maybe Narcissa. 

Harry heard a sharp intake of breath once they could see the spot Pansy told him to go to. There, in the middle of the park stood a canopy tent (Idk what it’s called, but it’s sorta like the thing they had when Bill and Fleur got married but without walls and not as tall). It had fabric covering the post that held it up and lights strung all around the top and flowing down the sides like vines. Green and gold blankets were laid on the ground as a makeshift floor while black and gold pillows littered the floor as plates of very expensive looking food floated around. It was gorgeous and Harry wondered how much he owed Pansy for all of this because it did not look cheap, but the look on Draco’s face told Harry it was totally worth every knut. 

“Do you plan to propose, Potter?” Draco asked. 

“Maybe,” Harry said over his shoulder as he pulled Draco towards the tent. The gold seemed to glitter under the fairy lights that were strung up. He really owed Pansy for this. 

"Pansy helped, didn't she?" Draco asked, shooting Harry a curious look. 

"How'd you know?" Harry faked an innocent look. He knew it was pretty obvious that he had help. There would have been no way for him to even find some of this stuff, and the Parkinson family crest on one of the blankets was visible from where they were standing. He pulled Draco over to a pillow and sat him down before he could answer. Orion slid off of Draco's shoulders and curled up onto a pillow beside them. Harry had to admit he liked the snake, it was funny and overall very helpful in the whole, 'finding out that maybe he didn't hate Malfoy but was secretly attracted to him thing'. 

Harry was fairly certain that this date would end well. 

\---

Draco was shocked, to say the least. 

Pansy had done a wonderful job decorating and pretty much setting up the entire date between him and Potter. He would need to thank her later. It seemed strange though, to have Pansy and Potter working together. After all, He was pretty sure they still were at ends with each other.


	15. Pansy's Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! New chapter. I would have put more into it but my WiFi is killing me with how bad it is.

Draco knew that Pansy would bug him about the date. What he didn’t know is that he’d be woken up to her busting into his room at six o’clock in the morning on a Sunday, demanding that he spill every detail. 

“What the fuck?” He squeaked when she jumped onto his bed and closed the curtains. 

“Spill,” she demanded as she put up silencing charms as to not disturb Ron.

“It’s six o’clock in the morning, what do you mean spill?” He squeaked again, then cleared his throat because he sounded like a hurt mouse. 

“I mean, spill all the details about your date,” Pansy clarified. 

“Oh. It was good. Thank you for putting the decorations up and helping Potter. Now, let me go to bed,” he finished with a very dramatic show of throwing the blankets over his head and snuggling (flopping if you ask Pansy) into the bed. 

“Ginny put those up. Will there be a second date?” Pansy persisted. 

“What?” Draco asked while bolting upright to look at her. 

“Will there be a second date?” Pansy repeated, looking confused.

“No before that” Draco said, moving his hand in a circular motion.

“Oh, Ginny put those up,” she clarified. Then frowned when she saw the look on Draco’s face. He looked upset and to say the least, a little constipated. “Why the face?”

“It’s nothing,” he said as he put on his mask of indifference again. He doesn’t know how to feel about this information. Sure, he appreciated talking to Ginerva Weasley and she was fun to be around in general. However, she was also his current love interests/possible boyfriend ex-girlfriend. There were a lot of not so great feelings around that area.

“No, why the face, Draco?” Pansy asked again.

“It’s just-” he started and then stopped as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. He had very conflicting feelings. 

“Yes?” she asked, pushing against him a little.

“It’s just, I don’t know how to feel about Harry’s ex setting stuff up for our date,” he confessed. 

“Oh. Well, I suppose you’re right.”

“Ginny’s cool, it’s just, she’s, you know, his ex and all.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing she’s into women,” Pansy said. 

“What?” Draco asked, again, “Pansy, you know it’s not ok to out someone! Even if it’s not true!” Draco scolded her. 

“Oh, you haven’t figured it out yet? Darling, where have you been?” Pansy put a hand to his forehead to feel it. He smacked it away.

“What do you mean?” He demanded. 

“Ginny and I are a thing,” she whispered as if she hadn’t put silencing charms up not even five minutes before. 

“What? Since when?” Draco questioned. It made sense, with the looks they give each other and it would explain why Pansy is rooming with Ginny over her stay. However, Pansy seemed too selfish for Ginny. 

“About July.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Draco demanded. He was supposed to be Pansy’s best friend but she kept such a huge secret from him. He wondered how bad of a friend he had been to make her feel as if she couldn’t tell him something.

“I was,” she paused for a moment, “at Christmas.”

“Pansy-” Draco began. He wanted to know why she hadn’t told him.

“Enough about me, How was the date?” She asked. Draco recognized it as her switching topics. He decided to let it go for now. 

“It was good. He was really sweet. And surprisingly has decent manners.” Which was true. Potter had great manners, keeping up conversation about things like what Draco wanted to do with his life and how his mother was. Draco asked how Harry was, how he really was not the front he put up for the public. He also asked what Harry planed to do with his freedom not that the prophecy was complete. Overall it had been a great date compared to the awkward first dates with some of the boys from Durmstrang when he had just started to figure out he liked men and the various date with Pansy that had been fronts for their parents and Voldemort. Which reminded him that he still hadn’t come out to his mother (He wasn’t even going to try to come out to his father). 

“Soo, second date?” Pansy asked, wiggling her eyebrows and nudging him with her elbow. 

“Next weekend, nothing big,” he clarified.

“Yay!” She shouted.

“Oh, but we don’t want a lot of people to know,” Draco said. He loves Pansy, but she had very loose lips if he didn’t let her know that it was a secret.

“Yes, yes the prophet and all, I know,” She said while rolling her eyes. 

“Well, it’s more, my father.”

“Will you be telling your mother?”

“Yes.”

“And Ron and Hermione?” She questioned.

“Nope. Nor Theo, not even Blaise.”

“Then who?”

“Well, from the sound of it, you, Ginny, and Luna. Oh and my mum and Harry wanted to tell Charlie Weasley,” Draco told her.

“Very well then. Although I’m not sure why he would want to tell a Weasley when he won’t tell his best friends.”

“He said something about Charlie being able to help if he needs it.”

“I guess that makes sense,” she glanced at her watch, “Oh, I must be off, Ginny just got back from her morning flight.” 

“Bye Pansy”

“Bye, love. You be careful with your boy toy,” she said as she jumped off of his bed and ran out of the room to avoid the hex that was shot her way. Draco decided to roll over and go back to sleep. It was Sunday after all and he planned to make it a lazy one. 

\---

Dear Mum,  
I have some news to share with you. I wanted to let you know that Potter and I are getting along. I have a good feeling about-

“No!” Draco grumbled as he crumpeled up another note he messed up. Nothing had happened Sunday or Monday except him procrastinating on the letter he was writing to his mum. He just couldn’t find the words to it. He was just about to give up when his mother Owl flew into his room and dropped off two letters. The first one from his mother.

Dear Draco,   
I hope you come to visit this weekend. I think we have an over due conversation we need to have. (Nothing too major, do not fret).   
Your father is home. He will be at the ministry Saturday morning to work out some things. I hope you can come by during this time. He wants to see you and i think it best if we talk while he is not home.   
Lots of Love,   
Mum

The second letter was from his father. 

Draco,   
I wish to see you soon, son. Please respond as soon as possible.  
-Your father

Draco quickly replied to both letters being as vague as possible. He had a long weekend ahead of him.


End file.
